Cooper Union project faces lawsuit and a skeptical City Planning Commission (08/04/02)

Cooper Union project faces lawsuit and a skeptical City Planning Commission

by Andrew Nynka

NEW YORK - Seeking approval from New York's City Planning Commission, officials from The Cooper Union testified on their large-scale development plan at a commission hearing on July 24. The plan, which has generated opposition from the East Village's Ukrainian community, drew commissioners' skepticism and a lawsuit that included two members of the Ukrainian community as plaintiffs.

During the hearing city officials acknowledged the school's value, but questioned setting a precedent by changing the zoning on real estate for non-profit groups in order to accommodate commercial expansion. "The idea of city government changing the zoning to help the financial needs of an institution is one that troubles me," Irwin G. Cantor, a planning commission member, said during the five-hour hearing. The proposal, he added, would change Cooper Union "from an institution that educates people to an institution in the real estate business."

In his testimony before the commission, school president Dr. George Campbell called the project "essential to the future" of the school and said officials have "an unequivocal responsibility to preserve Cooper Union's unique, distinguished and critically important role in higher education."

Dr. Campbell noted in his testimony that the school has made "significant" design changes to its plan in an effort to respond to community criticism regarding the bulk and height of planned buildings and called the elimination of 40,000 square feet of space from their original plan "a substantial penalty" for the school. He said the school's latest plan would "ensure that the final outcome is not only thoughtful and responsive but reflects our historic commitment to excellence and urban design."

However, commission member Joseph B. Rose also voiced skepticism over the plan. He questioned the necessity of a proposal to create floor area for commercial purposes for a school that "does not pay property taxes."

Dr. Campbell said the school has "an equally compelling responsibility to create a sound financial infrastructure that will enable the institution to sustain, over the long term, the critical mission mandated by its charter." He added that the school had created a comprehensive financial plan that would ensure a sound economic foundation and establish "a sustainable platform for what we believe is the foreseeable future." A "critical" part of the financial plan, said Dr. Campbell, was the commercial development of existing properties.

However, while attempting to create that economic foundation the school has drawn critics who claim their own economic future would be in jeopardy. Residents who testified said that approval of the school's plan could change the atmosphere of the residential neighborhood and drive out established residents.

Touching on one of the community's largest criticisms, the president said, "We've made every effort to align our needs with those of the community, working closely with their elected and appointed representatives throughout the process."

Many residents disagree. Myron Surmach, owner of the ethnic Ukrainian store Surma on Seventh Street, said the school had used "bulldozing tactics" in order to approve its plan. "They did not inform us - they just went ahead," he said.

Four residents of the community seeking to halt the development review process filed a lawsuit the day of the hearing with the State Supreme Court in Manhattan. The plaintiffs charged the city and college with violating land-use procedures, and asked that the college's application be nullified. The suit, according to the group's lawyer, contends that the school does not own all of the properties on which it plans to develop and that significant amenities for the community have not been included in the plan.

Mr. Surmach, whose store has been a fixture in the neighborhood since it was opened by his father in 1918, was one of two Ukrainians listed on the suit. He classified the neighborhood as a "residential, family" neighborhood where "you can't help but not want a skyscraper across the street."

Residents have also drawn attention to a school-owned parking lot at 26 Astor Place, which community boards and residents have repeatedly said should be part of the school's development plan. When asked by commissioners why their plan had not included the parking lot, Dr. Campbell replied that the school had other plans for the site. When pressed by commission members for a more detailed answer Dr. Campbell would not elaborate.

Planning commission members seemed dismayed by the school's answers regarding 26 Astor Place and acknowledged that development there would also affect the neighborhood. They said that questions regarding the site's use needed to be addressed by the school for the future.

Since plans with architects fell through over the development of a chic hotel on the 26 Astor Place site late last year school officials have said only that they intend to develop the site.

Barring a court ruling that would void the proposal, the commission has until September 3 to make its decision.

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